right. He removed it as well and then pulled off her socks.
He smiled when he saw they were decorated with pink flamingoes. He set them on the truck bed. Lifting her left foot, he placed it in the center of his chest. She wriggled her toes and he rubbed the arch of her foot.
“Your feet are small.”
“Really? They seem just right to me.”
He ran his finger along her instep, tickling her, and she squirmed to get away, causing the hem of her dress to ride up her thighs. All thoughts of smallish feet and tickling her dropped away. He noticed the large bruise on the top of her foot and pressed a gentle kiss to it. Ranching was hard work. He’d ask her what happened later, make sure it wasn’t causing her pain. But right now he wanted to focus on bringing them both pleasure. His fingers glided up her leg. It was strong, muscled from years of working on the ranch—he always associated Molly with strength.
Despite what her father had said, and what she was going through now, he didn’t believe she was hiding on the Bar T—that wasn’t Molly Tanner’s way. She was the kind of woman who met life head-on and took what she wanted. And for some reason she wanted him.
He hoped he wouldn’t disappoint her. But at this moment, with the scent of her filling every breath he took, the only thing he could be sure of was how much he wanted her.
He just needed to be inside of her. To prove to himself that he wasn’t lost.
Damn.
He shut down his mind and just stared at her long, slim legs. Her skirt still covered the top of her thighs and suddenly the clothing wasn’t tolerable to him anymore.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said, the words torn from some place deep in his soul.
“I’m not,” she argued.
“You are.” His fingers drifted higher and felt something rough on her inner thigh. Somehow he hadn’t noticed it earlier. Leaning lower, he examined her leg in the dusky twilight.
“What is this?” he asked.
“Burn scar from the time Annabelle and I tried smoking in the barn, but Jeb busted us. I dropped the cigarette in surprise but caught it between my legs, not wanting to start a fire in the hay. It burned my jeans instead.”
He touched the scar again, lightly. The skin was raised, but it wasn’t as rough as it would have been when she’d first got it.
“When was this?”
“The spring before you arrived.”
“You tried smoking at twelve?” he asked. No matter how much he learned about her, there was still a lot he didn’t know.
“Yeah, my mom had just died. I was going through a phase,” she said.
He feathered his fingers over the patch of skin. It fit with what he knew of Molly.
He leaned down and kissed the scar.
What else had she done? What other scars were hidden on her body? He vowed to find them all. To search them out so he could kiss them and soothe them. To make her his completely and learn all the secrets that he’d never realized she was keeping.
But how could he do that and still keep his own secrets? It was a path he’d have to tread very carefully.
He kept kissing her, moving higher and higher until he reached the edge of her panties. He mouthed her through her underwear and felt the heat of her body. Her thighs tightened around his head and then she let them fall open.
He pushed her panties to one side and parted her with his fingers. Her hair was neatly trimmed, her flesh a delicate pink and the little nub at the center was swollen with need. He gently caressed her, rubbing her clit in a circular motion, and she moaned. A sound of approval. He continued to move his finger over her before he leaned down closer again.
He breathed on her first, watching her legs spread wider apart as she lifted her hips, presenting her body to him. He ran his tongue over her and she grabbed his head, resting one of her legs on his shoulder as he continued to lick her delicate flesh. She tasted amazing. He traced her core with his finger, just teasing the opening, and then slowly pushed one finger up inside of her. Her hips jerked upright.
He added a second finger and thrust them deeper. She was the perfect dessert on this starry night. She felt like everything to him in this moment. He was rock hard, his cock straining against the zipper of his jeans, but he didn’t want to stop touching Molly to free it. He continued moving his mouth over her until he felt her body start to tighten around his fingers. He kept rocking them in and out of her until she arched her back and cried his name.
He lifted his head, pulled his fingers from her body and looked up at her. She was on her elbows gazing down at him. Her eyes were fiery, passionate. There was a flush to her body and her breath rasped in and out, causing her breasts to rise and fall rapidly.
“That was...”
“Delicious.”
He climbed up on the tailgate and straddled her as she reached for the zipper of his jeans. He had a condom. Just one. Optimistically put in his pocket earlier when he’d stopped for gas on the way to the coffee shop.
He’d wanted her for so long. He’d known it when he arrived on the Bar T, and that deep need for her had been confirmed today in the lawyer’s office when he’d realized he wanted to be her hero. He wanted to come up with a solution that not only would be palatable to her but would impress her.
Shit. He was thirty-one and still trying to figure out how to impress a girl he liked. He’d hoped maybe he’d have figured women out by this age. Now he was wise enough to know he never would.
But he knew what she wanted tonight and he meant to give it to her. Some things in his life were out of his control right now, but with Molly there were no limits. He was in charge and he meant to take full advantage of that tonight.
She reached into the opening of his jeans as she lowered the zipper; he felt her hand rubbing up and down his cock. He jerked forward and realized his control was more tenuous than he’d imagined.
He had been at the space station for a year and that was a long time without anything besides his fantasies to keep him company. His body was primed. And this was Molly...which made it so much sweeter.
She traced his length, her fingernail scraping over his boxers. He wanted to feel her touch on his naked skin. He quickly freed himself, the evening air brushing over his aroused flesh, as she scooted backward, coming up on her knees to look at him.
She took his shaft in one hand, stroking him in her fist. Moving it up and down in a slow and sensuous way that made his balls tighten. She skimmed her finger over the tip of his erection and his hips jerked forward.
She cupped him in one hand and squeezed very softly as she tightened her grip on his cock. He started to thrust in her hand. She leaned forward and he felt her breath on him a moment before her tongue traced the head of his penis.
The beginning of his orgasm shivered up and down his spine and he pressed his hips forward, feeling her mouth engulf him. He tried to control himself—he’d been lauded for his self-control. But her mouth made a mockery
